Posted!

Join the Conversation

This conversation is moderated according to USA TODAY's
community rules.
Please read the rules before joining the discussion.

Opinion: Marijuana and individual liberty

My Turn
Published 4:02 p.m. ET Feb. 7, 2018

CLOSE

Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinds an Obama-era policy that allowed legal marijuana to flourish in states across the country. Sessions says federal prosecutors should decide on their own whether to devote resources to marijuana cases. (Jan. 4)
AP

Photo shows hands rolling a marijuana cigarette.(Photo: Special to the Des Moines Register)

There seem to be a lot of people up in arms about the attorney general’s resent overturning of the Cole memo providing shaky ground for states that are looking to move forward with differing levels of legalization of cannabis (“US to end policy that let legal pot flourish,” Jan. 4).

That and other acts of the federal government under Trump or just the announcement of Trump becoming president have made many people simply lose their minds and cower in fear or howl at the moon in some cases.

I hope this makes those who supported Obama, even when he overstepped his authority to implement his goals, realize that we cannot allow our civil servants to shirk their duty and overstep their bounds even if they may be altruistic and have everyone’s well being in mind, because that person won’t be in office forever and the one who steps in after them may be a terrible person and they will inherit the precedence of their predecessors.

The federal government has increased in power, immensely, since the founding of this country, especially in the early 1900s when they found the third (as in the first two failed) national bank (the Federal Reserve Act, enacted 1913), implemented the federal income tax (amendment 16 of the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1913), and changed the way the Senate was elected (amendment 17 of the US Constitution, adopted 1913) to name a few.

Notice a trend?

Our country was founded as a democratic republic to make it nigh impossible for any branch or level of government to become too big for the people to reign it in. The Congress was voted in by the people, the Senate by the state and the president through both the people and state representatives (electoral college).

On top of making the Senate no different than the Congress as far as who they are beholden to, a direct federal income tax also undermines the states’ role of governing, seen with the federal minimum drinking act of 1984 where states would loose federal transportation funding if they didn’t raise their drinking age laws to 21. Regardless of what you think the drinking age should be, this points out that the federal government uses the direct tax as a ransom to force states to do what they want.

Why should sovereign states continue to make mistakes that clearly haven’t worked since the 1920s? Alcohol prohibition didn’t do any good either, it bolstered crime syndicates and prompted the distilling of harder liquors.

Unless someone transgresses against someone else than what right does an individual or group of individuals (government) have to punish them (enact transgression)?

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been nothing but a disgrace to individual liberties and should be fired or resign. All civil servants need to protect everyone’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (a reason we have jury nullification and why mandatory minimums are also a disgrace to individual liberties or the reasoning and intellect of cops and judges). Sessions has tried to undermine that with the expansion of civil asset forfeiture which already makes victims out of individuals who are suspected of wrongdoing without being proved of any guilt.

One possible outcome that might come from overturning of the Cole memo is that the outcry of the populace may force the legislative branch to address this issue, the sign of Colorado Republican legislators shows how important of a topic this is to stay in office.